State Awards Climate Ready Housing Grants to 7 Projects In Boston

Grants will enable green energy retrofits and electrification at 7 developments throughout the city.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced the 2025 recipients of the Climate Ready Housing (CRH) grant program, with seven Boston affordable housing developments receiving significant funding to advance deep energy retrofits and electrification projects. Administered by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC), the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP), Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and MassHousing, the program supports affordable housing properties statewide in reducing energy use, improving resilience, and contributing to the Commonwealth's net-zero emissions goals.

"We are grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration and our state partners for recognizing Boston's commitment to climate-ready housing," said Chief of Housing Sheila A. Dillon. "By embedding energy efficiency and decarbonization into affordable housing development, we're protecting residents from rising costs, enhancing quality of life, and strengthening our neighborhoods against the impacts of climate change."

The development teams secured funding for several transformative projects that will upgrade over 275 affordable units across Roxbury, Fenway, South Boston, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain and Allston-Brighton. Together, these developments will lower carbon emissions, improve indoor air quality, and extend the lifespan of crucial affordable housing stock. The CRH program, created through the 2021 Economic Development Bond Bill and expanded under the 2024 Affordable Homes Act, awarded a total of $20.5 million statewide this year, with Boston projects representing a key share of the investment.

"Massachusetts can't meet its housing goals without preserving and modernizing the affordable homes we already have," said Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augustus. "Climate Ready Housing helps owners tackle big-ticket upgrades - from insulation and electrification to next-generation heating and cooling - residents get cleaner air, reliable systems and more predictable costs. With support from MHP, MassHousing andLISC, we're scaling this work statewide and keeping affordability and quality at the center of every project."

"In these uncertain times, the commonwealth's commitment to preserve critical affordable housing resources, improve the quality of life for vulnerable residents and move us toward meeting our climate commitments is more important than ever," said MHP Executive Director Clark Ziegler. "This $20 million investment supports those outcomes for more than 1,000 units of housing serving low-income individuals and families. We celebrate these innovative projects and the commitment of their collective teams to realizing climate-ready housing."

"Achieving long-term energy affordability means retrofitting the affordable homes that we have today to make them more efficient to heat and cool and more comfortable to live in, while reducing fossil fuel consumption," said Chrystal Kornegay, CEO of MassHousing. "These awards are an important component of our larger work to preserve and modernize the state's affordable housing stock. And they demonstrate how our clean energy priorities and affordable housing agenda work together to create a more affordable Massachusetts."

"Sustainable and energy-efficient homes are safe, healthy and affordable homes," said LISC Massachusetts Executive Director Gustavo Quiroga. "The historic investment by the Healey-Driscoll Administration's Affordable Homes Act to increase the Climate Ready Housing program and related resources for affordable housing owners is critical to achieving our state's housing and energy goals. LISC Massachusetts is proud of our work and partnership on this important program in its fourth year of helping preserve and improve essential housing in service of forging inclusive and resilient communities of opportunity across Massachusetts."

Among the 2025 awardees are:

• Seaver Street Apartments, Roxbury - Commonwealth Land Trust will receive CRH funding for a deep energy retrofit of a 16-unit service-enriched property, including full insulation upgrades, electrification of building systems, and resilience measures projected to reduce energy use by 58 percent.
• Our Lady's Guild House, Fenway - Led by the Planning Office for Urban Affairs and Fenway Community Development Corporation, this redevelopment will convert a historic lodging house into 86 affordable rental units, adding community space and supportive services while preserving a vital piece of neighborhood history.
• McDevitt Senior Homes, South Boston - South Boston Neighborhood Development Corporation will transform the former St. Augustine's Convent into 35 affordable apartments for very low-income seniors and one on-site manager's unit. The adaptive reuse project will preserve historic features while delivering a highly efficient, all-electric building.
• Brian J. Honan Apartments, Allston-Brighton - Allston-Brighton CDC will undertake a deep energy retrofit of a 50-unit affordable housing complex, achieving an anticipated 62 percent energy reduction and 51 percent cut in carbon emissions. The project also includes full electrification and on-site solar power generation.
• Franklin Field Apartments, Dorchester - The Boston Housing Authority will fully electrify seven buildings serving 129 households, improving building envelopes, replacing roofs, and modernizing apartment units. In partnership with National Grid, a centralized gas plant will be replaced by a networked geothermal heating system. The project is anticipated to reduce Energy Use Intensity by 68% and greenhouse gas emissions by 79%.
• Theroch Apartments, Dorchester -Urban Edge will undertake the rehabilitation of 15 buildings in Roxbury and Dorchester that serve low-income residents, all of which are approximately 100 year-old masonry buildings. Urban Edge plans to incorporate decarbonization measures into the project based on a comprehensive energy assessment that was partially funded with a technical assistance grant from MOH.
• Forbes Building, Jamaica Plain - To preserve 147 income-restricted senior housing units the Jamaica Plain Company will revitalize the Forbes Building to meet rigorous Passive House standards, substantially minimizing energy use. This deep retrofit includes advanced exterior cladding for superior insulation and the integration of an efficient, all-electric heating and cooling system. The project also enhances resilience through community features, notably developing a food forest and gardens to promote on-site production and activate resident gathering spaces.

Massachusetts Housing Partnership and MassHousing provide program administration on behalf of EOHLC, with additional support from LISC Massachusetts. Together, these efforts are ensuring that Boston's affordable housing portfolio remains both equitable and sustainable for generations to come.

• Published by: Housing